Tie rod for concrete wall forms



Dec. 25, 1951 A. H. SYMONS TIE ROD FOR CONCRETE WALL FORMS Filed Dec. 4, 1948 Patented Dec. 25, 1951 TIE Ron FOR CONCRETE WALL FORMS- Arthur H. Symons, Chicago, Ill., assignor to Symons Clamp and Mfg. Company, Chicago, Ill.

Application December 4, 1948, Serial No. 63,537

1 Claim.

The present invention relates general y to tie rods for use in concrete construction. More-particularly the invention relates to that type ofv tie rod which is designed for use with a pair of spaced apart vertically extending wall forms having oppositely disposed holes therein and attaching devices outwards of the holes, is adapted when in use to extend horizontally and have its ends project through the holes in the forms and attached to the attaching devices, serves, while in its operative position and in connection with pouring of concrete between the forms, to hold the forms against outward disp acement, and is further adapted after hardening of the concrete, release of the attaching devices and removal or or twisting of the ends of the rod. By forming dismantlement of the forms, to have its proj ecting ends bent at substantially right angles and then turned or twisted in order to break or sever them from the central portion of the rod at points adjacent the side faces of the concrete wall.

In a wall form tie rod of this type it has heretofore been proposed to form on the central portion of the tie rod a pair of spaced apart socalled flats with curved or rounded outer and inner corners and, in addition. points of weakness outwards of the flats. The flats in connection with hardening of the concrete become interlocked with the concrete and serve to hold the centra portion of the tie rod against rotation within the concrete wall while the ends of the tie rod are being twisted or turned. The points of weakness are ordinarily formed by splittime the tie rod outwards of the flats in order to weaken the tie rod in torsion but not in tension or by notching the tie rod so as to reduce its cross section at the desired break-off points. In practice it has been found that a wall form tie rod, having, in addition to a pair of spaced a art flats with curved or rounded outer and inner corners, points of weakness outwards of the flats for break-off purposes, is costly to manufacture because formation of the flats and the points of weakness necessitate the use of two separate sets of dies or complex dies.

The principal object of this invention is to provide a wall form tie rod which is materially less costly to produce than, .and eliminates the objections of, previously designed tie rods and is characterized by the fact that it has only flats and the latter are located at the break-off points points of weakness in connection with turning the flats on the tie rod so that the outer corners thereof are square as contradistinguished from curved or rounded the flats have a twofold purpose or function in that they not only prevent rotation of the central portion of the tie rod within the concrete during turning or twisting of the ends of therod for break-off purposes but also provide the desired points of weakness where the ends of the rods break off.

It is also an object of the invention to provide a wall form tie rod which is generally an improvement in the art and not only effective y and efliciently fulfills its intended purpose but may be produced at an extremely low cost.

Other objects of the invention and the various advantages and characteristics of the present tie rod will be apparent from a consideration of the fo owing detailed description.

The invention consists in the several novel features which are hereinafter set forth and are more particularly defined by the claim at the conclusion hereof.

In the drawing which accompanies and forms a part of this specification or disclosure and in which like numeral or reference denote corresponding parts throughout the several views:

Figure 1 is a perspective view showing a tie rod embodying the invention in operative or connected re ation with a pair of spaced apart vertically extending wall forms having oppositely d sposed holes therein for receiving the ends of the tie rod and attaching devices outwards of the holes for connection to the outer projecting extremities of the tie rod;

Figure 2 is a perspective view showing the tie rod'of Figure 1 after removal of the wa l forms following hardening or solidification of theconcrete, and illustrating in detail how the square corners at the outer ends of the flats form points of weakness whereby break-off of the ends of the tie rod occurs in connection with twisting or turning of the tie rod ends;

Figure 3 is an enlarged side elevation of one of the portions of the tie rod that have flats with the square outer corners, illustrating in detail the construction and design of the square corners at the outer ends of the flats;

Figure 4 is a plan view of the portion 'of the tie rod that is illustrated in Figure 3; and

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical transverse section taken on the line 5 -5 of Figure 2 and showing the manner in which the spaced apart flats on the central portion vof the tie rod become interlocked with the wall after hardening of the of forming a vertical wall. The forms 6 areof 1 standard or conventional design and each, as; shown in Figure 1, consists of a rectangular panel I and ,a rectangular reenforcing frame '8 on the I outer side of the panel. Thefframes 8 of the forms 6 have horizontally extending intermediate crosspieces 9 and these ar adapte'd -to' be-po'sitioned in horizontal alignment when the dorms are in their operative "or concrete wall forming positionr Horizontal slcts l ll are f ormedrin the "central portions of the panels "Iof the forms "at points directlyabove the central portions of the I horizohta11y teneing crosspieces Spot the reenforcing frames When the tie rod is in its oper- 'ativ'ef positions-with" respect to the forms its ends project through the 'slots' Ill, as shown in Figure 1 'oifthe drawing. The central portions of the frame crosspiecesil are provided with attaching "devices/II for'rele'a'sably locking the outer extremities of the tierod to the forms in connecton with'use of'fthe tie rod. As well'understood in the art. theiorrns's are arranged in an opposed laterally spaced upstanding position preparatory to pouringof concrete therebetween. In connection with positioningof the 'forms the ends of the tie rodare inserted through the slots I Q in the panels 7 of the forms. .Aiter insertion of the ends of the tie" rod through the slots, the extremities of the tie rod are anchored to thfOIhlS by proper manipulatio'riof the attaching'devices I I. As soon as the attaching ,devicesfare connected to the extremities of the tierod the tie rod serves to hold the forms B in proper position. Formation of a concretewall is accomplished bypouring concrcte betvf'en the tw-oiorins. As soon as the concreftehardensforI solidifies the attaching devices I I are released' from the extremities of the tie rod and the forms are removed-from the wall by shifting them outwards. After removal or dismantlementof the forms the projecting ends of the tie rod are twisted or turned in order to break or sever them from the central portion of the rod at points adjacent the side faces of the concrete wall.

Thetie rod is formedofi steel or any other suitablemetai in order that it has the desired tensile strength. It is designated in the drawing by the reference numeral I2 and except for the parts heretoioredescrihd is circular in cross section and or uniform diameter or cross section throughout. 'rneends'ertne 'tie rod are bent into the form of fiat, longitudinally elongated,'horizontally extending loops I3 and these are adapted in connection with assembly'of the forms 6 to be inserted through the slots til in the panels 1 and to fit flatly against the centraliportions of the upper surfaces of the "crosspieces 9; 'of the reenforcing frames I}. A The loops I 3 are permanentlyclosed by 'weldingth'e doubledback extremities of the tie rod toi' theladiacentportions of the tie rod ends.

On ftliefcentral"portion of the tie rod, i. e. the

pcruonior the' 'rodl that isbmbedddin the concrete, 'jt'wo spacedjap'art, horizontally extending 4' are tomes. T ese fiats ia re j formed by placing the ccntraipcruonbf the'tierd in' a the immediately adjacentportions of the tie rod by way of corners l5 which are square as contradistinguished from curved or rounded. By having the outer corners of the flats square, the portions of the tief'rod that are directly outwards of the outer ends of the hats are of less cross sectional area than the other portions of the tie rod and hence form points of Weakness whereby in connection with twisting or turning of the projecting ends of the tie rod such ends are caused to fracture or break off at the square corners I5. As shown inFigureB, the thickness of theflats I4 is approximately-half the diameter of the round- "ed' portions of the'tie-rod; The-flats due,"h'owever,'have'substantial1y the samecross sectional area as the rounded 'portions of' the rod. The dies which are used in forming the flats M are so designed or' constructed that in connection with use thereof they shear or sever the portions of the rod that aredirectly outwards of the outer ends of the flats to a distance equal to apgroximately a quarter of thediameter'of'the round portions of'the'rod and'hence form the' square corners l5'at the outer'ends of the flats. By providing 'the flats It with squareouter corners I5 the flats have a twofold purpose or function in that they not only hold the centralportion of the tie rod against turning in connection with twisting or turning of the ends of the rod, but also form directly outwards thereof points of Weakness which, as hereinbefore pointedout, constitute the break-off points where the rod-ends are fractured during twisting thereof; Theinner endsof the flats M are the same as the outer ends and join the portions of the tie rod that are immediately inwards thereof by way oi' so uare'inner corners ii. The flats I4 are positioned inwards of the loops is any desired distance, depending upon where it is desired to locate the points of weakness or break-off points.

If it is desired to have the points of weakness inwards of the sides of the concrete wall the flats M are formed an appreciable distance inwards of the loops i3. If it is desired to have the points of weakness or break-off points directly adjacent the sides'of the wall the flats are formed nearer the The attaching devices I I for anchoring the projecting ends of the tie rod l2 to the wall forming forms 6 may be of any conventional or well known constructionl They are illustratedin the drawing, howev'er, as being like those of the wall form forming the subject matter of my copending "United Statespatent application filed January 29,

1947 and serially numbered 724,999. As shown in the drawing, the devices ll comprise il -shaped brackets l7, vertically extending wedge-shaped bolts I8 and horizontally'extending wedges).

Thebra ckets 11 are arranged in straddled relation with the central portions of the horizon- 7 tally extending crosspiecest of the reen'forcing frames of the panels of the forms 5 and have longitudinallyextending slots 25' in the central portions of the' sidej legs'thereof." The latter are aligned with vertically extending transversely disposedslotsinthe central portions of the frame crosspiec'es' 9" and tbgther'vvith the last men- 5 tioned slots are adapted slidably to receive the vertically extending wedge shaped bolts l8. In assembling the forms 6 with respect to the tie rod l2 the forms are manipulated in such manner as a to cause the loops l3 at the ends of the tie rod to 5 5 be interposed between the slotted central portions of the crosspieces 9 of the reenforcing frames 8 and the slotted portions of the upper side legs of the brackets I 1. After so manipulat-- ing the forms the vertically extending wedge shaped bolts l8 are driven downwards so that; they extend through the slots in the upper side legs of the U-shaped brackets II, the loops l3 our" the projecting ends of the tie rod I2, the slots in the central portions of the crosspieces 9 and the' slots in the central portions of the bottom side legs of the brackets. When the bolts l8 are drivev on fully downwards they serve to anchor the projecting ends of the tie rod to the forms to the endthat the tie rod serves to prevent relative lateralj displacement of the forms. The lower ends of: the bolts l8 have longitudinally extending slots 2| for slidably receiving the horizontally extending wedges IS. The latter when driven through 1,; the slots 2| after proper positioning of the bolts I8 coact with the lower side legs of the brackets: :1 I! to prevent upward displacement of the bolts 5 l8 and thus releasably lock the bolts in their opef erative position. The attaching devices Ii are released from the projecting ends of the tie rod 30 12 after formation of the concrete wall between the forms 6 by first withdrawing the wedges H! j; from the longitudinally extending slots 2| in the 1'; lower ends of the bolts [8 and then driving the" bolts upwards until they are disengaged from the U-shaped brackets l1 and the loops l3, ff After removal of the form 6 from the concrete Q Wall the wedge shaped bolts i8 may be insertedi, into the loops l3 and then turned in order to ef fect break-oil of the projecting ends of the ti v rods at the square corners l5 constituting the points of weakness or the break-off points on the tie rod I2. As an alternative, the projecting ends 2; of the tie rod may be bent at right angles an then turned or twisted by any other suitable tool in order to effect the desired break-01f at the square corners I5.

The herein described tie rod efiectively and efficiently fulfills its intended purpose and is capable of being fabricated or produced at an exp-Q tremely low cost. The latter is directly attributable to the fact that the rod embodies the flats [4 v which, due to the fact that they have square outer corners l5, have a twofold purpose in that theyff prevent turning of the central portion of the tie 55 forms by way of the attaching devices II it is to be understood that the projecting ends of the tie rod may be differently shaped or formed and connected to the forms in any other manner. It is also to be understood that the invention is not to be," restricted to the details set forth since these may be modified within the scope of the appended claim without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. 7

Having thus described the invention what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

a new article of manufacture, a tie rod designed to hold in spaced apart relation a pair of upstanding concrete wall forms, formed originally of a one-piece length of metal of circular cross section and uniform diameter from end to end, consisting of uniformly cylindrical central and end parts, adapted to have its central part and the inner portions of the end parts thereof embedded directly in the concrete that is poured between the forms, and having between its central and end parts a pair of die formed parallel sided flats which are of rectangular cross section. are of uniform thickness from end to end but of less thickness than said central and end parts, and have square or right angle corners between their outer ends and the contiguous portions of the end parts, the points of juncture between the outer ends of the flats and said contiguous portions being of less cross sectional area than the end parts due to said square or right angle corners and forming points of weakness or break-off points whereby said end parts in connection with turning thereof relatively to the central part of the rod after pouring of concrete between the forms are caused to be severed at only said square corners.

ARTHUR H. SYMONS.

, REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,195,928 Kemper Apr. 2, 1940 2,370,174 Kinninger Feb. 27, 1945 

